Murray to 'move on' after split with Gilbert

Published on Thursday 15 November 2007 00:35

BRITISH tennis No 1 Andy Murray has split with coach Brad Gilbert after working together for 17 months.

"Despite being injured for almost four months this year I am pleased with my 2007 results and very grateful for the help the LTA gave me by providing Brad Gilbert as coach," Murray explained yesterday.

"But the time has come to move on to the next stage of my career. I am ranked 11th in the world and can afford to pay my own way and will now hire a team of experts each to fulfil a specified role in the development of my tennis and fitness."

It is not clear if Gilbert, who is paid an annual salary of around 750,000 by the Lawn Tennis Association, will continue working for the governing body of British tennis as performance director.

The American was hired last year not only to work with Murray but to raise the level of British tennis which, apart from Murray, Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, has stagnated for many years.

"We are currently reviewing the situation in relation to Brad and will look to make a decision in the near future," said LTA chief executive Roger Draper.

"Andy's success is vital for British tennis and he has become an inspirational figure for followers of the sport. It is essential he has a team around him that will allow him to fulfil his potential."

Gilbert, who previously worked with Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick, has helped 20-year-old Murray break into the world's top ten, reaching a high of eighth before a damaged wrist forced him to miss the French Open and Wimbledon this year.

The Scot won two ATP titles under Gilbert's guidance and reached three other finals.

ANDY MURRAY FACTFILE

1987: Born 15 May, Dunblane, Scotland.

2004:

Becomes first British winner of the US Open boys' title, beating Ukrainian Sergei Stakhovsky 6-4, 6-2.

2005: June - Defeats 14th seed Radek Stepanek 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to become first Scottish player to reach the third round at Wimbledon, where he loses to former finalist David Nalbandian.

October - Reaches first ATP final by beating home favourite Paradorn Srichaphan in the Thailand Open, before losing to Roger Federer.

December - Named player of the year in the LTA awards.

2006: 20 February - Claims first ATP Tour title when beating Lleyton Hewitt 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-3) in SAP Open final in San Jose, having also beaten Andy Roddick in semis.

28 February - Moves above Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski in ATP world rankings to become the British No 1.

14 April - Announces split from his coach Mark Petchey with immediate effect due to a "difference of opinion".

1 July - Reaches last 16 at Wimbledon with straight-sets win over Roddick, following earlier victories over Nicolas Massu and Julien Benneteau.

3 July - Suffers straight-sets defeat against 18th seed Marcos Baghdatis.

26 July - American Brad Gilbert confirmed as Murray's new coach.

16 August - Secures 7-5, 6-4 victory over Federer in second round of Cincinnati Masters.

6 September - Beaten in fourth round of US Open by Nikolay Davydenko.

2007: 22 January - Loses to Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller in fourth round of Australian Open.

18 February - Wins his second ATP Tour title as he retains his SAP Open crown in San Jose with a three-set victory over Croatian Ivo Karlovic.

15 May - Injures his wrist at the Hamburg Masters, forcing him out of the French Open.

24 June - Injury keeps him out of Wimbledon.

30 August - After wins over Pablo Cuevas and Jonas Bjorkman, exits US Open in third round to Korea's Hyung-Taik Lee.

22 September - Part of Davis Cup team which beats Croatia to return to the World Group for the first time in four years.

7 October - Crashes 0-6, 6-2, 6-3 to Spain's Tommy Robredo in final of Moselle Open in Metz.

28 October - Wins St Petersburg Open, seeing off Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 6-3 in the final.